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Food and water are both scarce. Electricity in the tsunami zone is nearly nonexistent. Survivors have lacked information about their missing loved ones.

But unlike other disasters where the world has observed looting, rioting and public outbursts of sorrow and rage, it has seen a country quietly mourning, its people standing patiently for hours in orderly lines for a few bottles of water.

This is surprising only if you’ve never lived here or experienced how Japan’s society operates. As a resident of Japan for three years, I would have been surprised if this country’s people behaved in any other manner.

Q.災害の最中、どうすれば日本のような強さを維持できるのか？

A. 私はアメリカの友人、家族、そして世界中で働いている同僚たち多くの人たちに、「日本の100年間の中で最悪の自然災害の渦中で、どうして日本人がそうま でも冷静でいられるのか？」というテーマについて幾度となく問いかけている。食料、水が少ない、津波の被害があった地域は電気がほとんどない（存在しな い）。生存者たちは愛する者たちの生存情報が著しく不足していた。しかし、今まで私たちが見てきた略奪、暴動、悲惨や激怒を訴える暴言という他(国）の災 害とは違い、日本は皆が静粛に（災害で亡くなった故人への）哀悼を惜しみ、人々は忍耐強く何時間も立ち続け、配布されたペットボトルの水を順番に列になっ て並んでいた。この状況が世界中で報道されたとき、日本と言う国に住んだことがなく、または社会的機能を経験したことのない人にとっては驚きだ。3年間日 本に住んでみて、この国の人たちのマナー(礼儀作法）の振る舞いに驚かされる。

Q.なぜ日本では略奪紛争が起きないのか？

A.もし自分の家がマグニチュード9.0の地震と津波、そして原発の放射能に襲われたら、冷静さを失うのも仕方ない。だがしかし、多くの日本の被災 者たちがしたことは、スーパーの外に整然と列をなし並ぶこと。PBSによると、かれらの生活は「特に規則に従順である(彼らにとってはこの大災害の中でも 規則を守ることは当たり前の道徳として教育されている）」、「日本の災害避難に対するしつけや訓練」についてフィリピンスターのコラムニストは言う。彼ら は誠実で規律正しい！彼らは共同社会である！彼らは個人より団体意識を重んじている！もちろん、人生でもっとも壊滅的な自然災害が起きても、ニューオリンズで 起きたカトリーナ惨事やハイチ地震とは違い、日本の人たちは人の物を盗んだりはしない。たとえ食料が断絶しても、日本人は整然と列をなして行儀良く 待っているであろう。

However, public trust in the Japanese government faces its biggest test since World War Two over the handling of the nation’s nuclear crisis, raising concerns that a breakdown in confidence could fuel panic and chaos if appeals for calm go unheeded.

Foreigners are leaving Tokyo, or shutting themselves indoors, and supermarket shelves are running empty despite authorities assuring citizens there is no need to panic from the crisis unfolding at a quake-stricken nuclear power plant.

Q.　日本は本当に安全なのか？国民は政府を信頼しているの？

A.　東京電力（テプコ）を通じ日本政府の報道によると、放射能のレベルは東京に住んでいる人に対して「危険を及ぼすレベルではない」と発表した。 しかしながら、日本政府に対する国民の信頼は第二次世界大戦以来、この国内放射能お惨事をどう対処するかで最大の局面を迎えている。その信頼の崩壊が燃料 不足パニックや混乱を引き起こし、冷静さを失わせるという事態となる懸念が広がっている。外国人は東京から去り、人々は屋外に閉じこもり、さらに地震によ る原子力発電所の損壊で起きた惨事に慌てることはないという国民たちの確固たる強い確信に反してスーパーは商品がなく空っぽの状態で営業している。

You’ve made it to the end of the week with CNN Student News. Thank you so much for joining us. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, I’m Carl Azuz.

AZUZ: First up, water is the key ingredient in efforts to avoid a nuclear meltdown at a power plant in Japan. The workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are trying to cool down the fuel rods inside the nuclear reactors. The normal cooling systems aren’t working.

[0:32]So, engineers are using fire trucks and police water cannons, like you see in this animation here, to try to attack the problem from the ground. Using military helicopters to drop water from the sky. Thursday, authorities said these efforts had been "somewhat effective." That was based on the steam coming out of the reactors and on the lower levels of radioactivity around the plant.

[0:53]But radiation is there. The workers who are at the site have full-body hazardous material suits on. But that protective clothing isn’t very effective at actually stopping the radiation that these workers are being exposed to. One way of measuring nuclear radiation is in units called millisieverts. Radiation levels at these plants have spiked to higher levels in an hour than people naturally come into contact with in a lifetime. These guys are experts, though. They work around nuclear reactors. They know exactly what the dangers are. The fact that they’re willing — in some cases volunteering — to stay at the power plant, to try to prevent a meltdown, that’s why they’re being called heroes.

[1:34]The massive earthquake that started all of this hit about a week ago, and Japan is still feeling aftershocks. Watch what happened while CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta was talking with Kiran Chetry from CNN’s American Morning.

[1:48]DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: We’re feeling an aftershock right now, Kiran. I’ll just tell you the, I don’t know if you saw that at all, but things moving around a bit on us even as I’m talking to you. These aftershocks have come quite frequently. It’s still continuing here. OK. I think we’re all good.

Q & A

[2:07]AZUZ: OK, we’re going to bring in Steve Kastenbaum. He’s a national correspendent for CNN Radio who just got back from Japan. Steve, you were in Japan right after the earthquake happened. Talk to us about the wreckage you saw.

[2:18]STEVE KASTENBAUM, CNN RADIO CORRESPONDENT, NEW YORK: It was pretty amazing. The earthquake itself really didn’t cause a lot of damage in much of the northeast region of Japan. It was the tsunami that really caused a lot of the problems that we saw the pictures of. You’re looking at some images of a small fishing and farming village called Ishiyami that I was in, north of the city of Sendai. And you can just see what the tsunami did to this area. It just barreled through there with a tremendous amount of force, literally lifting houses right off their foundations and dropping them on top of other homes. It was almost wiped off the map.

[2:53]AZUZ: And Steve, afterward, in the days that followed, we’ve heard so much about this radiation from the nuclear plant in Japan, and we know that a lot of folks are trying to get out. You were in Tokyo. What did you see at the airport there?

[3:04]KASTENBAUM: We saw massive crowds of people. The lines literally snaking through the terminals at Narita Airport in Tokyo. You’re looking at some pictures I took on the day that we left. Look at that. The lines just went on for as far as the eye could see, and it took forever to check in to the flights there. And the terminals were extremely crowded, yet it was a very orderly place. Nobody was complaining, you didn’t see looks of anxiety on people’s faces. People just wanted to get out of Tokyo by any means possible. They would take seats on flights that would get them out of the country and it proceeded in a very orderly fashion. There really wasn’t a panic at all. Tokyo, the streets of Tokyo, were unusually quiet and traffic was very light for Tokyo, a city that’s known for having incredible traffic jams. So, people were definitey staying off the streets, most likely because of their fears about the potential for radiation contamination.

AZUZ: Steve Kastenbaum from CNN Radio, thanks very much for speaking to us today on CNN Student News.

Hi Everyone and welcome to Part 3 of "MY LIFE in Japan"…When I last left off in last month’s newsletter, I was apartment hunting and gathering the necessities of making my home livable.

I wanted to continue with my life story in this issue of the monthly newsletter but with the recent events of what happened in Japan on March 11th, at around 2:46pm, I could not get my mind focused on writing about my "usual" life experience in Japan as it pales in comparison to the lives of people affected by the trajedy. My heart goes out to all who have been affected by this trajedy.

In this month’s newsletter, I would like to write about my experience in the aftermath of the earthquake and my feeling of how events have unfolded.

[March 11th] On the day of the earthquake, I was working at the school and was having a class with 5 students on the 7th floor. When the building started shaking, none of my students nor I initially thought it was unusual since we had all felt tremors in Japan before. However, as the building constantly shook and became more and more intense, panic began to fall upon each and every one of us. We all got under tables and watched as shelves, books, and computer screens fell to the floor. We all looked at each other with a stare of fear that I can not begin to put into words. It had to be the scariest moment I have ever faced.

When the shaking stopped and everyone had time to grasp the magnitude of the situation, we were then in shock as of what to do next. All public transportation was reportedly at a standstill and the news reported that aftershocks would still be felt throughout the day. We all immediately tried to reach loved ones to make sure they were all safe but the telephone systems seemed to be overloaded and nobody could reach anyone by cellphones. However, data communication via email/pc proved to be the only lifeline that did not get knocked out. Despite the news reports warning of further tremors, most of my students and coworkers wanted to get home.

[Cultural Note 1: In spite of all the chaos, the people of Japan remain civil- In other countries, I can only begin to imagine people getting angry and pushing one another when trying to get on trains in such a situation. Nobody was yelling. Nobody was arguing with authorities.It may have been normal actions to normal Japanese, but for a foreigner, this display of dignity and composure was just unbelievable. Truly remarkable]

[March 12-13th]

For a period of 2 days, I stayed at home glued to the TV in hopes of getting any news I could about the severity of the damage and what government officials were recommending for us to do. Quite honestly, the longer I watched TV, the more I felt despair due to all of the news reporting of casualties and information regarding the Fukushima’s Daichi nuclear power plant. My parents back home have been adamantly asking me to get out of Japan to avoid any possible radiation dangers that could reach Tokyo. From their viewpoint, CNN and other media outlets in the U.S. were reporting that the situation had a higher probability of getting worse than better. However, for some reason or another, I felt that I could not just leave Japan. I had made the decision for the time being to stay put… I also felt some doubt if my decision was the right one…I hope it will not be one I regret later 🙂

Once I knew that I would remain, I needed to go out finding basic necessities to hold me over for the next few days. Being through hurricanes back home, I felt I needed to get the following items: water, batteries, lighters, waterproof blanket/tarp, dry food, bread, etc

Finding these supplies took me the better part of almost several days which I felt was understandable given that everyone was seeking the same things. One suprising item I did not include in my list of basic needs was toilet paper as I notice everyone was seeking this and none were seen anywhere. I didn’t realize why at first but it made alot of sense so I went out in search of this also. I visited almost 10 places to no avail but finally came upon a small mom and pop shop that had 5 bags. I grabbed two bags and approached the counter to pay but the elderly woman behind the register said something like: "sumimasen, ikko dake ……" . I could not fully understand what she meant but I think she said " excuse me, you can only take one". I apologized and said I would only take one. When I saw the price of 328yen on the register, I was surprised as I expected these high demand items to be more expensive!! When I left the shop, I could not help but think about what had just happened! It took me by surprise as it took me some time to realize that she wanted to leave the other bags for other customers who were probably seeking the same thing. Furthermore, and most shocking part was that the bag I had just bought cost about 328yen. This is the normal price at other stores and did not have any markup!

[Lesson Learned 2: Live together, Support each other: – In the U.S. most basic items would double, triple, or even quadruple in price when demand for these items increase. Stores would even sell all they could at a higher price since the most important thing is profit. I have grown up all my life believing in two fundamental rules: "Every man for himself" and "First come, first serve"… This mentality is slowly changing for me as I am learning a more effective rule for a cohesive society: "Live together, Support each other" ]

[March 15th]On this day, my electricity went out due to the rolling blackout implemented by the government to conserve power. Due to the fact that I could not buy batteries, I was able to make a temporary kerosene light using usual cooking oil and an old sock. The light was adequate to provide lighting in my room and I was still able to use my laptop to watch NHK programming using my wireless Internet modem.

As I sit here again, remembering how I had done same thing in Part 2 of my life in Japan, I can only wonder how a short period of a month can drastically change life. I pray and hope for all people of Japan to be safe and wish to express my utmost respect and gratitude for the men and women risking their life at the nuclear plant.